Cases of coronavirus rise to 90 with more to come, says expert

England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty has said on Thursday morning three more cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Scotland, bringing the total in the UK to 90.

There are 80 cases in England, one in Wales, six in Scotland and three in Northern Ireland.

Professor Whitty has warned he is “expecting the number” to rise further by Thursday afternoon and in the coming weeks.

He said, “There are now several, not large numbers but several cases where we can’t see where this has come from in terms of a clear transmission, either because someone’s come directly from overseas, or they’ve had close contact with someone who’s recently returned from overseas.

“That makes it highly likely, therefore, there is some level of community transmission of this virus in the UK now.”